Episode 0A: Straying or Adrift?
by reluctant.swordsman
Summary: A small encounter between the serpent influencer and mad scientist before the start of a school day.


The back to a hardcover book closed, the yellow arrow pointing to the spine of the record keeper she had been writing in for some time. It was riddled with her observations on her current experiment, the Black Blood, and her running plan to revive the one and only Asura, the first Kishin to exist in this plane. Oh, how she would kill who she needed to kill, control who she needed to control to complete that task. If only it were that simple. People were nosey these days, losing their lives in the process. She had to be careful, watching her steps along the way.

Packing up her things, she locked the door to her home, her base, her abode, her laboratory. There were several locks that no one could see with the naked eye. A woman had to have some kind of security when hiding evidence of one of the most treacherous plans of all time. It would be completely idiotic if a child stumbled into her house and caused a disturbance. You never knew what would happen in that case.

It was early this morning, and the sun was only just now breaking the horizon. Inside the halls of Shinigami Buki Shokunin Senmon Gakkou, there hardly stirred a soul. It was definitely quiet. She came to Shibusen this early because of that fact, and it was convenient to have time to think to herself, to ponder her next move or where she would send her creation, Chrona, to retrieve more human souls.

Reaching into her left pocket of the white physician's coat, the black arrows embroidered on the tips, she removed the small chain of keys to the Dispensatory. Not the first, not the second one… Ah, the third one to unlock the door. Click went the lock and the door cracked open slightly before…

"Good morning!" A man's voice called from down the way.

Professor Franken Stein, the strongest master to come out of Shibusen. What luck. The likes of him nearly took her by surprise. She really had to quit going too far into thought to notice someone like him sneaking up on her, or he would definitely keep trying to.

She played that fake smile, those eyes going kind and gentle. "Ah, Stein-hakase! Good morning."

"You're up bright and early," Stein came to a stop, providing a genuine fake smile as well. "Have some catching up to do?"

What nerve he had for conversing with her. After that last conversation he had with her about the herbs she was prescribing the scythe technician, Maka, she thought he would have simply let her be, but who would assume that? Stein was part of Shibusen, and Shibusen was her target. This, he knew. Her identity, he knew, but she knew he could not go around telling people without the proof. Right now, he was just trying to bother her with small talk.

"Actually," She politely went on to correct him. "As they say, to be on time is to be late, and to be early is to be on time. I guess you can say I'm a natural early bird."

"That's good to know," The professor stuffed his hands into his pockets. "We can't have a nurse that we can't trust."

"Well, that is true," She replied, indirectly parting from the small talk by entering her office. "Excuse me. I'm going to prepare the room. Anyone could be in need of medical assistance at any time. I can't have myself being unprepared."

The perfect excuse, yes, but he was not giving up that easily. "May I?" Stein asked kindly, implying he wanted to be invited in, and took a step forward. At least, this way, they would be able to talk without being interrupted soon.

"Sure. Just make sure you don't lose track of time. You've got a class to teach, right?" Medusa played along with the small talk, and luckily, he did not catch the narrowing of her eyes as she walked in.

Following her, he cracked a smirk, wandering into a section of the room. At least she did not say no. Now, he had to just gradually pry into the subject. "Yeah, that's right. I teach the class Maka and Soul are in. It's nothing complicated."

"Those two are bright students, even though they may not look it sometimes," Medusa responded as she proceeded to open the shades to the window. "How is Soul doing? Has he recovered enough to be able to take on assignments again?"

"Yup. They actually took one last night and completed it with flying colours," Stein gave the brief report on their progress. "By the way.. That herb you gave them. It seemed to help a bunch."

"Oh, you flatter me. I was just doing my part to help out," She replied, which was humorously the exact opposite of what she was actually trying to do.

"I have to ask… Where did you get it?"

The question hit her like a dart with an annoyance attached to it. She did not answer the question immediately.

Stein continued to press on the matter, trying to get her to cough up the truth. "I searched every medicinal herb book in the library, and then every one I had. Alas, I could not find it… and that's saying a lot. It simply does not exist in the known world of science."

"Oh, that's because I have my own garden," Medusa managed to come up with a plausible reason on the spot. "I've been trying to work up useful herbs for the past couple years given my role as nurse." This, however, was not a lie. The herb that she gave to Maka Albarn was one she in fact grew herself in her laboratory. If she had gathered herbs from the far reaches of the wilderness where it was obviously unsafe for others, that would have caused more suspicion. "If you ever want to try one of them, all you have to do is ask. They won't harm you." That, there, was a lie. Half of the herbs she grew were as deadly as a deadly snake's venom.

"Heh heh. No thanks," Stein chuckled half-heartedly to himself. "..But I have a favor to ask of you, Medusa-sensei." The friendly tone he had gotten whisked away by a more stern one.

Medusa glanced over her shoulder. _This guy…_ She thought growing irritated. "Eh… Yes? What is it?"

"Tell me… What are you really after?" He posed the brave question.

".. 'After'? Why, what are you talking about? I'm not after any-"

"You can drop the play," He interrupted her, placing his left hand over the screw stuck in his head. He gave it a few turns. "It's not a very good one…"

An annoyed glare crossed her features as it fell unto the professor.

"And acting nice doesn't suit you at all…" A gleam reflected off his glasses, the screw still turning in his cranium. "…Not for a witch."

Medusa chuckled quietly, devilishly behind a closed mouth.

Stein did not reply.

"You sure like to pry into a woman's business," The witch's malevolent eyes showed their true lack of sanity, a serpent's sneer curling across her face. "You should know. Becoming a man who knows too much can shorten your life span…"

"Heh," The equally-insane being smirked. "One person can never know too much, not when innocent lives are set on the table."

Then tension between them was growing apparent in the room.

"Saying that you care about what happens to them surprises me…" The witch remarked slyly. "When faced with a goal, other lives shouldn't matter in your eyes, should they… Stein?"

He squinted at the other, the clicking emitting from the screw. "Sounds like you're up to something wonderfully terrible…"

"Really now?…" Medusa turned to the side, quite confident about where she stood as of now. "I think you've lost more than a small portion of brain matter for that piece of metal in your head."

"Oh?… And I think you've lost the entirety of your mind in coming here," He said turning the screw, still trying to find the right point to stop. "It's like a murderer waltzing into a police station. I can't help but think that you aren't stupid enough to come here and get caught. You're here for something more… aren't you… Medusa?"

An arrow moved from under her left foot, inching out onto the floor before her. It took everything she had to hold herself back from attack. "…You couldn't do anything, even if you tried, you poor fool." She uttered, her voice above a dull whisper. "All those questions you keep asking, and you don't even know how easy it would be to dispose of you right now…"

A very eager sneer tugged at the sides of his face, the wild look reflecting from behind his glasses. "Go ahead and try… It would be absolutely fun to dissect you." The hand ceased its turning, the screwed locking into place.

They were ready for it. They were fully prepared to rip each other apart in a whirl of bloodlust and uncontrollable frenzy. The bloodlust thickened in the air, the need to attack to kill filling them both. All they needed was one movement from the other, and one of them would die. One of them would prevail. One of them would gain some upper hand and tear out a throat in success… but they both somehow knew that this forecasted fate would not happen. At least, it would not happen here.

"Medusa-sensei!" A girl's voice called from the hallway.

Their eyes to darted to the exit out of pure instinct and precisely hasty accuracy, only to find Maka Albarn hurrying into the doorway.

"I'm here to pick up my prescription… -Eh?" Maka walked into the room, puzzled by the second being's presence there. "Stein-hakase?"

The tension that was there was apparently gone, as well as the witch's arrow.

"Ah. Good morning, Maka!" Stein had given her the flick of a wave, his more subdued expression giving the salutations.

"G-good morning!" The scythe technician nodded once to the both of them, just about forgetting her manners.

"I should be heading to the classroom now. Class will start soon," The professor glanced at the clock on the wall and turned to the door. "Don't be late, or I'll make you stand in front of class on one foot the entire time while holding a stack of twenty text books!~"

Maka sweatdropped in dismay. "Yeah… I'll remember that."

"It was nice speaking with you, Medusa-sensei," Stein passed a less relenting gaze to the 'nurse'. "Maybe another time?"

"If I'm not too busy, then yes," Medusa had also put on her smile, which masked the evil deception lurking behind it.

"Later, you two." And, the professor vacated the room.

_I'll be sure to shred you to pieces next time we meet…_

The thought had crossed both their minds.


End file.
